Happy Halloween
by Sugarbubbleslove
Summary: Halloween has arrived in Terra Nova...


Title: Happy Halloween

Characters: Maddy/Mark, Josh/Skye with a smattering of Jim/Elisabeth

Rating: Teen

Disclaimers: I do not own anyone/anything from the forum Terra Nova. Fox owns Terra Nova and its characters. There is no copyright infringement intended. I do not make any profit/money or take any credit.

Summary: Halloween has arrived in Terra Nova...

Timeline: Set after 'The Runaway'

A/N: First Terra Nova fanfiction. Betaed only by me (all mistakes are mine)

Prompt: October Meme – Halloween prompt by Bellakitse

Happy Halloween

Maddy Shannon slowly spun on her toes as she took in the sights of the community setting up decorations to celebrate Halloween. She knew of Halloween, the history of how it started and how it changed over the centuries but she never really celebrated it back in 2149 because of the harsh environment.

"Hey." Maddy spun around to see Skye standing behind her with a bright amused smile on her face.

"Hey." Skye looked around them before looking at Maddy once more.

"Got curious?" she asked with a knowing grin. Maddy gave a short laugh as a smile graced her face, nodding.

"We didn't really celebrate it in 2149 so this," she gestured her hands outward, "is all new." Skye nodded in understanding as she moved to stand next to Maddy.

"Have you got an outfit yet?" she asked. Maddy looked at her curiously and Skye grinned. "This is usually a party where it's required to dress up," she explained, shrugging. "Commander Taylor says if we're to have a Halloween party, then we should meet all the requirements."

"Does Commander Taylor not like holidays?" both girls started walking among the stalls to look at the new stuff the vendors had put out for Halloween. Skye grinned.

"I think it's mostly Lieutenant Washington's idea. She wanted to keep up the traditions like New Year, Christmas, Birthdays. Halloween and Easter and days like that kinda got added in toward the end. She wanted to have Fireworks night but because it's usually called Guy Fawkes' night, it didn't really work out."

"I'm not surprise," Maddy said, grinning. "Besides, I think that would probably attract the dinosaurs. Not all of them are easily startled and would probably be more curious than scared." Skye grinned as Maddy stopped, flushing with embarrassment.

"Don't be embarrassed. I kinda like it when you go all scientific like that," Skye teased her, bumping hips with the younger girl. Maddy looked at her, startled.

"Really?" she asked. "People usually seem annoyed with me." She looked down at her hands, her fingers twisted together.

Skye placed a hand on Maddy's shoulders. She didn't know much of the Shannon's life back in 2149 but from their fear when it comes to losing a member of the family and that Josh had said that school was hard, socially, for Maddy indicated that it hadn't been easy.

"Well, I like it," Skye assured her when Maddy looked at her before she grinned mischievously. "And I'm sure Reynolds likes it." Maddy flushed. Skye laughed as she rubbed shoulders with the girl. "How are things going with the two of you?"

"Good…they're going really good," Maddy said with a bright smile.

"So…kisses?" Skye asked, almost hopeful and Maddy shook her head.

"No, we're still getting to know each other," Maddy told her. Skye sighed.

"I like that he wants to court you…beside, where did he get that idea from?"

"Commander Taylor," was Maddy's amused reply. Skye stared at her uncomprehendingly for a moment before she burst out laughing, startling some of the customers and vendors as they looked toward the duo.

"Oh, that's great," Skye managed to say through her laugher, now leaning on Maddy as the other girl giggled. "Just don't tell Tasha or she'll tell all the boys that they must go to Taylor to get lessons on how to court a girl."

"And I don't think any of them could handle asking for permission to date the girls," Maddy added, grinning at the confused look on Skye's face, "Mark asked my dad for permission to date me." Skye bit her bottom lip.

"I'm guessing he said it was okay?" Skye asked.

"He said he 'carry a gun, have a quick temper and hold grudges'," Maddy quoted. Skye's jaw dropped before she wrinkled her nose.

"But he didn't say no," Skye pointed out and Maddy nodded slyly.

"A fact that Mark exploited," she agreed and Skye laughed as she linked arms with Maddy.

They passed a vendor that was selling different materials for Halloween when Maddy remembered that she needed to dress up. Skye seemed to read her thoughts.

"What would you like to dress up as?" Skye asked. Maddy stopped to think about it before a slow smile spread across face. Skye's look turned to one of curiosity as Maddy turned to face her.

"I have an idea, come with me." She grabbed Skye's arm and both girls disappeared within the crowd.

~_HH_~

"Are you sure this is okay?" Skye asked from where she was standing in front of the full length mirror that was situated on Maddy's wall in her bedroom.

"I asked my mother and she said it was fine for us to take the bandages," Maddy assured her from where she was kneeling in front of Skye with said bandage in her hands, wrapping the white fabric around Skye's knee before she grabbed a pair of scissors.

"I am perfectly fine to go as a zombie," Skye reminded her.

"I know but you'd need to put things into hair and onto your body to look like blood. I'm not so sure the kids would like it," Maddy reminded, tucking the now cut piece of bandage under the rest so it wouldn't come undone.

"Oh…good point," Skye murmured as Maddy stood up. "Your turn!" she put Maddy in place and grabbed the scissors, kneeling down.

"Do you think this is ok?" Maddy shifted the corset part of her dress. She had been surprised to find a dress like this when they had been browsing for clothes.

"Its fine," Skye assured her as she continued to do her job. "I'm sure Mark won't complain about the view." Maddy looked down at Skye, confused before she looked up at the mirror only to blush when she saw what Skye was talking about.

~_HH_~

"Are you excited about tonight, Z?" Jim asked as he opened the door and allowed his youngest daughter to enter the house. He followed her with the bags in his hands.

"Yeah, it'll be fun, right?" she asked. Jim grinned.

"It'll be great fun," he assured her, closing the door with his foot and both of them moved over to the kitchen so Jim could place the bags down on the counter.

"Will we get candy?" Zoe asked. Jim frowned, pausing as he unloaded the bags, thinking about it. Candy usually meant chocolate, toffee, marshmallows and things like that but he wasn't sure if they had found any variation of it here in the past.

"I don't know, Z," Jim told her before giving her a smile. "I think we'll have fun finding out." Zoe grinned back only to look over her shoulder when she heard her big sister's voice.

Jim turned when he heard his daughter call out for him before frowning when he didn't spot her.

"Maddy?" he called.

"Are you in the living room?" she asked. Jim looked at his younger daughter with a confused look, one that was identical on her face. Both of them looked at the bedroom door, where Maddy's voice came from. Both of them moved closer toward the living room.

"Yes?" Jim said; not sure if it was the right answer.

"Ok, we're coming out!" she told him. Panic gripped his heart, his stomach clenching at the 'we' in his daughter's sentence. He suddenly had the image of the Reynolds's boy, the one that always hung around his daughter, coming out of the room behind Maddy.

"We?" he demanded.

"Yeah, Skye and I," his daughter called back. Jim just sagged, relieved. Zoe gave her father a quizzical look, not sure what was going on when her attention was distracted by the door being slid open.

Both of them looked to see Maddy stepping out first. She wore a purple dress that stopped mid-thigh, the hem ripped. She wore black tights and black knee high flat boots. She had a black pointy hat, one that Jim recognised that a witch would wear, and a grin appeared on his face as he realised what was going on.

Skye came to stand next to Maddy; she wore a pair of blue demin shorts and a white crop tank top. The bandages covered the top, stopping just above mid-drift, a strip going diagonally across her stomach and wrapping around her shorts and parts of her legs. They were also over her arms and around her neck. She wore short black boots.

"Wow," Jim gaped at his daughter and friend, both who beamed in return. Zoe was standing next to her father and clapped her hands at the sight of her big sister all dressed up, Maddy's hair was down in curls while Skye's was up in a messy twist. "A witch and a…mummy?" he asked, not sure.

"Yep, I was originally going to go as a Zombie but Maddy thought this was more practical and I agree with her," Skye told him. Jim chuckled, obviously getting why Maddy thought being a mummy was more practical.

"We have a present for you. Zoe." Maddy stepped to the side, allowing Skye to reveal the outfit they had created with the left over scraps. Zoe stared at the outfit. It was a sparkly pink top with similar shorts and there were white butterfly wings attach to the back of the top. "We'd thought you would like to dress up as a fairy and we'll take you trick or treating tonight."

It was worth the bright smile that adorned the younger member of the Shannon family as she moved closer to them, a hand reaching out to softly touch the outfit.

"Are you sure you want to take her trick or treating?" Jim asked. "I was originally going to do it myself since I knew there was a party tonight. I thought you'd want to go that." Maddy nodded.

"We can do both, you can even come along if you want," she told him. Jim laughed as he shook his head.

"It'll be fine. You can take her. I'll stay here to hand out the treats," he told them before he looked at Zoe. "Is that okay with you?" she nodded and he smiled. "You'd better get changed into your outfit. It's nearly Trick or Treat time." Zoe giggled before she made her way into Maddy's room with the girls following her.

Half an hour later, the doors opened once more and Jim stood up from his seat on the couch in time to see Maddy and Skye exit first with Zoe trailing behind them. He smiled when he saw his younger daughter. She had the outfit on with pink shoes. Her hair was pulled back into two pony-tails and she had light pink lip gloss on. He noticed that they had created a wand for her.

"You look like a real fairy," Jim told his daughter proudly, who grinned, giving him a curtsey.

There was a knock at the door and Jim answered it, smiling brightly when he saw Leah, the sixer runaway who had stayed at his house for a brief time

"Hey Leah, you look awesome." He stood to the side to allow the blonde girl into his house. She wore ripped jeans and a black ripped top. He could see fangs peeking through the parting of her lips. "Vampire?" he asked. She grinned widely to show the fangs. "Where's your brother?"

"He's going trick or treating with our mother," she carefully said the last word, still not used to calling anyone mother. "She's taking him and his friends." Jim nodded before he pointed in the direction of where his daughters were.

Leah moved in further and smiled when she saw Zoe.

"Leah!" Zoe's face lit up when she saw her best friend and moved closer.

"Are you a…fairy?" Leah asked, unsure of what a fairy looked like. Zoe had described them but they weren't any pictures around. Zoe nodded.

"Maddy and Skye made my outfit," she explained before she peered closely at the fangs. "Those look so real." Leah grinned.

"One of the vendors made them, they fit over my teeth." She pulled one off to show that there was gap in the fang, allowing the item to slot over her tooth perfectly. Zoe's eyes went wide.

"Cool!" Leah slipped her fang back into place before she looked at the older women curiously.

"I'm a witch," Maddy explained.

"A mummy," Skye supplied. They just got a curious head tilt from Leah and Jim grinned as he watched them explain what their outfits meant when he heard the door open. He turned in time to see his wife enter and smiled.

"Hey," he greeted softly. She smiled when she saw him before her eyes wandered over to their children. She smiled brightly when she spotted them all dressed up, moving closer to stand next to her husband. He slid an arm around her waist, kissing her cheek in greeting.

"Well, you girls look nice," Elisabeth told them, admiring each one.

"Look at Leah's fangs; they actually fit over her teeth." Zoe pulled Leah over so Elisabeth could admire the fangs. Elisabeth smiled at her daughter's excitement, glad to see that Zoe was having fun.

"That is actually impressive," Elisabeth said as she checked the fangs. Leah just gave her a shy smile before Elisabeth looked at Zoe's outfit.

"Maddy and Skye made it for me," Zoe noticed the questioning look on her mother's face. Surprise flickered over her face as she looked at her elder daughter and friend, both of them grinning embarrassed.

"Good job, girls," she told them before she looked at her watch. "You'd better get moving if you are going trick or treating." They nodded as Maddy picked up the candy bags the girls had made at school, giving to Skye before she picked up the small pumpkin lantern that was carved and had a candle in it. She lit the candle up before putting the lid on it.

The girls were already waiting at the door where Skye and Maddy joined them. All four of them waved goodbye to the parents before stepping down and joining the other kids as they squealed and shouted in excitement.

"Don't eat all the candy on the way home!" Jim called after them and got waves in his direction. "Maybe I should have told them not to eat the candies in between each houses as well," he grumbled to himself, closing the door.

~_HH_~

Mark was walking with two of his friends, heading toward the centre of the square where the party was going to be. He would side step every now and then whenever a kid came barrelling toward them, too excited to stop for a moment.

"I swear we are surrounded by kids," one of them muttered, frustrated as he moved to the side of another kid, "Is it too hard to go around us?"

"Tough it up," the other laughed, not bothered by the kids. The first one just groaned before he caught sight of something.

"Hey dude, isn't that the Shannon girl?" he asked, backhanding Mark to a stop. Mark looked at his friend curiously before following the hand that pointed in the direction and he felt his heart skip a beat when he saw Maddy dressed up, laughing. She was holding on to Zoe with one hand and the other hand held a pumpkin lantern.

Zoe had her free hand linked with Leah, a runaway Maddy had told him about; while Leah's other hand was holding onto Skye. Skye's free hand had the candy bags firmly secure in her grasp.

"She looks good," another one said, glancing at the other guy with a supress grin at Mark's reaction, especially when Mark broke out of his stare and glared at the guy. "Oh, we know she's off limits," he teased. Mark flushed as his friends clapped their hands on his back, laughing.

Both of them continued walking but Mark stayed still for a moment longer, watching as Skye would hand the girls the bags when they reached a door. Maddy would smile as the girls walk over to the door, knock on it before cheering 'trick or treat' to whomever answered the door.

He felt a smile of his own tug at his lips when he saw Zoe was dressed up as a fairy, skipping to join Maddy once she got her candy. Shaking his head, Mark continued moving, hoping he'll see Maddy at the party later.

~_HH_~

The party was already in full swing when the girls arrived. Music was blaring over the communication system. People were milling around, some dancing and some checking out the tables with food and drinks.

"Wow, this is actually impressive," Maddy spun on her toes to look at the sight around her. Pumpkin lanterns littered the table. There were torches forming a circle and there was a bonfire in the middle to provide heat.

The table had different colours table clothes to signalise Halloween and everyone was dressed up in different outfits. Even the drinks were in different colours. Skye smiled, amused as ever when it came to Maddy's fascinations in taking everything in before she spotted a familiar figure off to the side, near the bar that had been set up for drinks.

"Oh there's Mark!" Skye pointed off to the side and Maddy turned to see Mark was standing at the bar with a plastic cup in his hand. She frowned when she spotted that he was in his normal soldier civics.

"Do soldiers not need to dress up?" Maddy asked. Skye snickered as she shook her head.

"Last year, Washington went a bit overboard with helping him dress up for Halloween. He kinda vowed not to go through that again." Maddy bit back a grin before she spotted familiar coloured hair and pointed in that direction.

"Josh is over there, shall we meet up at the food table later?" Maddy suggested. They had decided they wanted to meet the guys on their own to show off their outfits. Skye nodded before she squeezed Maddy's elbow before mingling with the crowd.

Skye managed to find Josh before he moved onto the next table. She smiled when she noticed he was wearing baggy jeans and a black t-shirt with a long sleeve top underneath. His hair was spike up and he had his guitar strapped over his back.

"Josh!" Josh turned around to see Skye behind him and his eyes widen when he took in the sight. The bandages covering her breasts only left the top part bare and with the bare mid-drift, barring the one strip, ended up stirring feeling within his stomach.

"Wow…you look…wow," Josh stammered. Skye giggled.

"Thank your sister. I was originally going to come as a Zombie but she thought a mummy was better," Skye told him. Josh nodded before his eyes narrowed.

"Er…where is my sister?" he looked around for the girl in question.

"She found Mark, she decided to go and see him," Skye spoke up only to arch an eyebrow when she saw Josh's jaw tightened. "She's sixteen and she really likes the guy. He obviously likes her as he asked your father for permission to date her." Josh just rolled his eyes while Skye eyed his outfit. "So…what are you supposed to be?"

"A rock star," he told her. She giggled, nodding. Josh picked up a cup of juice and handed it to her. She took it with a smile of thanks. "I thought you and Maddy were taking Zoe and Leah trick or treating." Skye nodded.

"Zoe's at Leah's house to watch a film with Leah's brother and friend. Their guardian will bring her home once it's finished," she explained. Josh grinned.

"Mom and dad will be pleased to have the house to themselves for once, without any of us in danger." Skye laughed as they tapped their plastic glasses in celebration.

~_HH_~

"Trick or Treat, Mr Reynolds." Mark stiffened before he turned around to see Maddy standing behind him with a bright smile. Up close, he could see that she had glitter on her cheeks and her lips were glossy dark pink.

"Trick or Treat, Miss Shannon," he replied, a smile curling his lips. He did his best to keep his eyes from wandering any lower than her face. She arched an eyebrow as she let her eyes wander over his clothes before meeting his once more.

"You're not dressed up," she told him, her hands going to her hips. An amused smirk curved his lips.

"No, I'm not," he told her.

"It's Halloween and I heard that it was mandatory to dress up," she informed him. Mark chuckled.

"I dressed up enough last years," he explained. "Alicia kinda went overboard with the whole make up. I went as a ghost and took me a while to wash off the white powder." A smile curved her lips at the image. She was about to say something when she heard someone call her name.

"Maddy Shannon, you look great," Alicia said. "Not bad for your first Halloween." Maddy grinned brightly.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Washington. You look great too." Maddy took in the sight. The normally stern woman was dressed in a pair of brown pants that were tucked into black boots. She wore a white shirt with ruffles with a sword holstered, tied around her waist and there was a pirate cap on her head, her normally tied back hair was loose over her shoulders.

"Thank you." She turned and arched an eyebrow at Mark, noticing his lack of costume. "I see you didn't dress up." Mark flushed as he grimaced. Maddy lit up.

"You know, I think I know of a costume for you," she told him and he looked at her, something akin to panic in his bright blue eyes. "It wouldn't require any make-up, I promise." He narrowed his eyes at her only to groan when she blinked those pretty eyes, giving him a hopeful smile.

"You're good," Alicia snickered, winking at Maddy before walking off, leaving her subordinate in capable hands.

"What do you have in mind?" Mark knew he wasn't going to get away with it, not with both Maddy and Alicia ganging up on him. Maddy just gave him a smile.

"Do you have any knee length shorts?" Maddy asked. Mark just arched an eyebrow, curious to where this was leading.

~_HH_~

Jim and Elisabeth were enjoying having the house without the kids for one night. They were currently relaxing on the couch, only getting up whenever someone knocked on the door to see a bunch of cute kids dressed up saying 'Trick or Treat!'.

Their heads came off the couch when they heard their front door open and turned to see Maddy entering the house with a pair of black knee length shorts over her arm. Mark was following her dressed in his normal soldier civics. He stopped when he saw them and gave them a nod in greeting.

"Mr Shannon. Mrs Shannon."

"Hey mom, dad," Maddy waved as she entered her bedroom before she poked her head out a few seconds later to see Mark was still standing in place. She strode over to him, grabbed his wrist and dragged him into the bedroom. "Unless you wish to undress in front of my parents, I think the bedroom would be a good idea."

Jim shot Elisabeth an alarmed look while Elisabeth just frowned, curious to what was going on with her daughter. "Get changed into those shorts and let me know when you're ready. I'll be outside," Maddy came back out, closing the door.

"Er…Maddy, sweetheart?" asked Jim. Maddy looked toward her parents and rolled her eyes in amusement.

"Mark didn't dress up for Halloween and Lieutenant Washington wasn't happy. I thought of an idea that didn't require him to wear make-up," she explained. "Listen dad, could Mark borrow your blue shirt?" he raised an eyebrow. "You are slightly more built than him, he's more lean and you're more brawn so the shirt would really help to finish off the outfit." She took a deep breath to prevent any more rambling, peering at her father with a pleading look.

"Sure…" Jim said after a few moments, looking at his daughter with amusement. She flashed him a bright smile of thanks before she disappeared into their bedroom. They could hear her searching through the drawers before she found the article of clothing with an 'ah-ha!'

"Maddy…" they turned their head to see Mark had opened the door part-way, his head poking out to look for the girl. Maddy came out of the bedroom and smiled as she walked over to the door, shoving him back into the bedroom as she followed him in.

"Should we be worried that our daughter likes shoving him into her bedroom?" Jim grumbled to his wife, who laughed, patting his thigh in comfort.

Maddy slid the door close and turned around only for her eyes lock on to Mark's bare chest, she bit her lower lip only for her eyes to come up when she heard Mark call her name and she flushed.

"Oh! Here!" she thrust the shirt at him before turning her back on him to look for the spare bandages that she and Skye had dismissed for being too thin. It would be perfect to finish off Mark's outfit and she needed to get her emotions back under control.

She found them, picking them up and turned back to see that Mark had finished pulling on the shirt and he was about to button them up. "Don't," he looked at her, startled, and she blushed lightly. "They don't button up the shirts, they kinda need to take the shirt off before they start fighting and leaving it unbuttoned makes it quicker to remove the article," she rambled before she bowed her head, grimacing.

She really needed to find a way to stop rambling. Mark's lips twitched at the corner of his lips when he saw her ramble again. He hadn't admitted it to her but he thought she looked cute when she started rambling before blushing when she finished.

"Hey," she lifted her head when she felt Mark place a hand on her shoulder to see he was smiling at her. "I like it when you ramble," he admitted, his cheeks turning a little red before he shrugged. "It…it's cute." She bit her bottom lip as a shy smile curved them.

"Erm, here's the bandages, there should be enough to cover your hands," she told him as she took one and placed the edge of one bandage on it. She slowly began to wrap his hand, leaving his fingers bare before she reached his wrist, tucking the other end in.

She repeated the action to his other hand before she took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves only to gasp when she felt Mark's bare fingers caress her arms. She lifted her head to lock eyes with Mark's.

He had watched her while she wrapped the bandage around his hands, her brows furrowed a little in concentration. He couldn't help the smile whenever he saw that. Soon, she was finished bandaging his hands and she took in a deep breath.

His fingers went to her arms and he slowly caressed them, watching her expression for anything that told him to back off. She just gasped and raised her head to look at him.

Her skin felt soft and warm under his fingers. The temptation to kiss her was intense. He moved in closer, their bodies brushing together and he licked his bottom lip when he saw her bite her hers.

Maddy held her breath when Mark's face lowered. Their noses brushed together, her eyes closing when she felt his lips brush against hers only to groan when there was a tap at the door. The moment was broken and Mark stood back, clearing his throat while she nibbled her bottom lip before sighing.

"We should get back to the party," she told him and Mark nodded.

Elisabeth watched from where she was standing next to the counter in the kitchen as husband pressed an ear against the sliding door only to frown when he couldn't hear anything. He straightened up and tapped the door before walking quickly over to her.

"Jim!" Elisabeth hissed only to arch an amused eyebrow when her husband mouthed 'what?' before she shook her head as the door opened to reveal Maddy and Mark. They exited the bedroom and Jim took a double take when he saw what Mark was wearing.

"So, you're going as a fighter?" Jim asked. Mark just shrugged and Jim grinned. "She used her eyes, didn't she?" Mark nodded and Jim laughed, clapping Mark on the shoulder before he walked over to his wife.

Maddy rolled her eyes at her father. "We're going back to the party, see you later." She guided Mark over to the door. He gave them a short wave before he disappeared out of the door. Maddy glared at her father one more time before she closed the door.

"What did I do?" Jim asked. Elisabeth just snorted as she sat back down on the couch with her husband following suit.

~_HH_~

Josh and Skye made their way over to the food table in time to see Maddy and Mark show up, holding hands. Skye smiled brightly when she saw this, especially with the pleased smile and small blush on Maddy's cheek before she spotted that Mark was no longer in his soldier civics.

"Hey, you got him to dress up!" Skye clapped her hands together. Josh just grumbled under his breath before he gave Mark a short nod, getting one in return. Maddy just stared at her brother.

"What…are…you supposed to be?" she asked, taking in his outfit.

"A rock star," Josh grumbled. Maddy just arched an eyebrow before she shook her head.

"Ok," she told him before she turned to the food. Josh just looked at Mark before letting his eyes slide down to where he was still holding Maddy's hand before looking at Mark once more.

Mark flushed and Skye elbowed Josh in the stomach. Hand over stomach, Josh looked at Skye with a confused look only to get a look of warning from the smaller girl then she turned and gave Mark a bright smile.

"Do my eyes deceive me?" they heard Alicia asked as she came up behind Mark. Mark let go of Maddy's hand like it was on fire before he spun around to see Alicia smirking. "You are actually dressed up…as a fighter?" she gave him a raised eyebrow.

"It didn't involve make up," Maddy spoke up with a small smile. Alicia just chuckled as she nodded before she turned away but looked over her shoulder.

"You can hold the girl's hand if you want, Reynolds. I'm not going to arrest you for doing so." She walked off, giving them a wave. Skye snickered while Mark and Maddy flushed, giving each other a shy smile while Josh groaned.

"I certainly object," Josh spoke up as Maddy slid her hand back into Mark's.

"You don't get a say," Maddy retorted as she tugged on Mark's hand, leading him away from the food table and her brother. Josh followed with Skye grinning in amusement.

"I'm your brother," Josh reminded her as they neared an empty table.

"And I don't stick my nose in your relationships so you can butt out of mine," Maddy replied. Josh sputtered for a moment before he conceded defeat, groaning as he slumped down on the chair, crossing his arms, glaring at his sisters as she sat down across from him with Mark sitting down next to her. Skye took the seat across from Mark, next to Josh.

"Wow, you are good," Skye commended Maddy with an impressed look. "You got Mark to dress up and you got your brother to concede defeat." Maddy just smiled. "Can you teach me?" Maddy laughed outright at the look of horror on her brother's face. "Kidding!" teased Skye as she looked at Josh, who didn't look pleased.

Mark decided to break the awkwardness between him and Josh by asking some questions about Josh's guitar. Skye took the opportunity to ask the question that had been on the tip of her tongue when she saw Maddy and Mark arrive holding hands.

She got up and moved to the seat closer to Maddy, leaning in and lowering her voice.

"Did you get a kiss?" Skye asked. Maddy bit her lower lip as she snuck a look at Mark over her shoulder to see he was in a conversation with Josh and turned back to her friend.

"Nearly…dad interrupted us," she told her, unable to keep the disappointment out. Skye winced before a thoughtful look came over her face.

"Listen, the next time you have a date?" Maddy nodded. "Go out, go exploring. He's a soldier so he will be able to protect you and I don't think your father will interrupt you then." Maddy arched an eyebrow, interested.

"What are you talking about?" Josh interrupted and they turned to see both men looking at them curiously.

"Nothing," both of them said together before they looked at each other before giggling. Mark and Josh just arched an eyebrow before they turned back to their conversation. Skye and Maddy couldn't help the laughers that escaped from them only to be interrupted when the music cut short.

"Alright, party's over!" they looked up to see Commander Taylor was standing at the railing outside his room at the command centre with an amused smile. "Go home and get some sleep! You'll be all back in the morning to help with the cleaning up!" There were groans of protests as everyone slowly got up to head back to their homes.

"I'm gonna head to Skye's house for a little while longer," Josh told his sister, who nodded, grinning at Skye as the blonde blushed behind Josh. "Will you be ok getting home?"

"I'll walk her," Mark jumped in. Maddy turned to face him, giving him a smile while Josh just gave him a short nod, not fully trusting the guy with his sister just yet.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Maddy." Skye winked at the brunette as she tugged on Josh's elbow, leading him away from the couple. Josh kept an eye on them before he disappeared out of sight.

"Shall we?" Mark held out his arm. Maddy giggled as she slipped her arm through his, resting her head on his arm as they both wandered back to her house, taking their time.

They reached her front door and Maddy turned to look at Mark.

"Thanks for walking me home," she told him. Mark nodded, looking nervous. She frowned, curious.

"I…I was wondering, if you would like to have a date outside the gate? There's this place I want to show you," Mark told her. Maddy narrowed her eyes in suspicion for a moment before she smiled, nodding.

"Sure, I'll like that," she told him. Mark gave her a bright grin in return.

"Ok, I'll…erm…take you out next week, I don't have any free time this week," he told her and she nodded. Mark leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek before he backed off, giving her a shy smile.

Maddy watched him go with a bright smile before she entered the house, closing the door and resting her back against the wood, biting her bottom lip to prevent a squeal from erupting but she couldn't stop the wide grin that spread over her face. She just hoped they wouldn't be interrupted this time.

The End/Happy Late Halloween!

This wasn't supposed to be as long as this but it just kept growing! *glares at Mark and Maddy for being too irresistible*

Thanks to lynxlarabellows for letting me borrow the idea of the Communicating System to play the music.


End file.
